Veteran – What are WHOLE FOODS?

A mother who strives to feed her family Nutrient Dense foods by making sure the majority of their calories come from WHOLE FOOD PLANT BASED sources.

So what are WHOLE FOODS?

I found the best way to determine whether a food is WHOLE or not is to ask these QUESTIONS:

1.Picture where the food came from. Can you imagine it growing?

I always try to encourage my children to snack on healthy foods.

When they ask“What is a healthy snack Mommy?”

I say“Make sure the snack comes from a tree.”

Now I know not all healthy foods come from a tree…but it does help my children understand this principle a little more. It is easy for them to picture an apple tree or a cucumber plant. It is pretty tough to picture a field of marshmellows or a bush full of fruit snacks.

2.How many ingredients does it have?

A whole food has only one ingredient- itself. There is no label of ingredients necessary on simple foods like oranges, wild rice, and garbonzo beans.

3.What’s been done to the food since it was harvested?

The less, the better. Many foods we eat no longer resemble anything found in nature. These foods are: refined, bleached, hydrogenated, chemically treated, and gassed. Basically the foods have literally had the life taken out of them. Many PROCESSED FOODS are not REAL FOOD anymore. They are chemically engineered food-like substances….and the chemicals that are added to foods can be ADDICTIVE. See more info on processed foods and what they do to your body here.

Read the list of ingredients on the label:

IF YOU CAN’T PRONOUNCE IT OR CAN’T IMAGINE IT GROWING, DON’T EAT IT.

If it is not something that you could possibly make in your kitchen or grow in a garden, be cautious.

4.Is this product “part” or “all” of a food?

For example- Juice is only a part of a fruit. It is missing the essential nutrient: FIBER. Oil is only part of the olive. When you take parts of a food out- the food becomes concentrated and more caloric dense. Another example would be WHITE RICE. It is only part of the grain- and has more calories then it’s whole version- brown rice.

THE WHOLE FOOD is ALWAYS BETTER then a PARTIAL FOOD.

But can you still eat partial foods and be healthy? OF COURSE you can!!! Again- you should strive for the majority of your calories to come from WHOLE FOODS.

We here at Whole Food Mommies are constantly learning how to feed our families better. We try to stock our kitchen with delicious WHOLE FOODS as much as we can! Next time you go grocery shopping- ask yourself these questions as you fill your cart. Try your best to avoid processed foods. Need some more ideas? Check out our recipes- they are pact full of WHOLE FOOD ideas. Good luck!